


Mr Espresso

by Perlmutt



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bakery and Coffee Shop, Barista Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes Is a Good Bro, Café, Coffee Addict Tony Stark, Coffee Shops, First Meetings, Fluff, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, M/M, Manhandling, Meet-Cute, Mutual Pining, Natasha Romanov Knows All, Pepper is so done with this shit, Pining Steve Rogers, Pining Tony Stark, Romantic Comedy, SO MUCH FLUFF, Shy Steve Rogers, Sulking, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, ceo tony stark, with fanart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:35:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22021168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perlmutt/pseuds/Perlmutt
Summary: Tony's head over heals for Steve, the barista of his favorite coffee shop. He skips his meetings and ignores his duties to spend time with him. But one day, Pepper snaps. She's got enough of his childish behaviour, confiscates Tony's phone and bans him from visiting Steve.And the cute barista, who might have a crush on the cocky but charming business man, worries about the sudden distance and misses his favorite customer dearly...
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 15
Kudos: 227





	Mr Espresso

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, thank you @matchina04 for your wonderful artwork. I love it. It's the best christmas present!  
> All of you, dear readers, check the artwork out here: https://twitter.com/matchina04/status/1209982343127031808/photo/1
> 
> Next: thank you @matchina04 and @JustSynapses for the ideas for this story. It was so much fun, chatting with you!! (You can find both accounts on twitter)
> 
> And now I hope you enjoy this little piece of fluff, coffee and more fluff. <3
> 
> Please note: not beta'ed, English is not my mother language, sorry for mistakes and spelling errors!

_The muffin was really tasty. Thanks for that, muffinsnuggler_

**Muffinsnuggler? Haha, Tony, that's not even a word! But I'm happy that you liked it. I was planning to try a new recipe, would you like to try it out when I do a test run?**

_Who are you talking to? Why's that even a question? I'm wounded, you don't know me at all! You know what, I'm kicking you off my facebook friend list. Ha, take this!_

**You're such a dork, Tony. You don't even have a facebook account. Are you coming over tomorrow at ten? I'll ask Buck to take over for me, so we can chat without you holding up the line. Again. *winking emoji**

_And you are adorkable, Mr Muffinsnuggler. Yep, I'm coming, of course I'm coming, why do you ask if I'm coming? By the way, did you finally watch the Return of the Jedi? I still can't believe you didn't know any of the original Star Wars movies when we met. It's humanly impossible to not know that Darth Vader is Luke's father…_

**No, I still haven't had the time to watch it. Some of us aren't billionaires and need to work for a living, you know?**

_You could just marry me, that would solve all of your-_

“Tony! Give me you damn phone! We're in the middle of a meeting! How old are you, huh?” Pepper whisper-shouted at him and a few board members heads turned around to stare at them disapprovingly. Pepper shot them an apologizing smile and pinched Tony's arm to get his attention. His cell phone, the newest model of the Stark Phone Tony had designed himself, vanished in her purse.

“Ouch, Pep! That hurt!” Tony rubbed the throbbing spot on his arm and slid down in his fancy office chair until he sat at the head of the table like a moping child. He picked at the papers in front of him until the corners were tattered. He could almost see the pulsating vein at Pepper's temple. Finally she snapped and rapped him over the knuckles. He stuck his tongue out at her and instead of torturing the paper any longer, he now drummed the beat to Black Sabbath's _Iron Man_ with his fingers on the side of his chair. Two or three of the bald, boring board members glared daggers at him and one sighed loudly. Pepper inhaled deeply through her nose, closed her eyes for a second and after another fifteen minutes of Tony acting like a teenager on ten cans Red Bull, she finally stood up and all of the old geezers turned to look at her.

“Mr Markmiller.” She interrupted the man, who was about to start another boring listing of numbers. “If you might excuse me for a minute, I need to have a word with Mr Stark in private. We will be back shortly.”

She grabbed Tony's arm and dragged him out of the room. Her grip on his arm was like steel and he was sure his fingers would die away if she didn't release him soon. She led him from the meeting room to his private office a few corners away. Nodding to Natasha, Pepper's substitute PA, she shoved Tony into the room and shut the door with a bang. Tony strolled over to his couch and tried to become invisible. He knew exactly that Pepper was internally preparing to lecture him for the next three or so hours.

“I'm sorry, Pep. It won't happen again, Pep. I'm a grown up man, Pep. You're the best, Pep.” He tried and hugged a cushion to his chest. He wanted his phone back. He wanted to message Steve. He wanted to flirt with him and he wanted to leave this stupid, stupider, stupidest meeting and go that little coffee shop a few streets away to stare a bit more at the big, blond, beautiful and warmhearted barista, who stole his heart with his smile, his wit and his characteristic triple espresso with just the right amount of sugar and without all of that fancy stuff that hipsters nowadays put in their coffees.

“No, you aren't sorry. No, it will happen again because I know you. No, you're a teenager. Yes, I am the best.” She put her hands on her hips and planted herself in front of him.

Her purse was hanging from her shoulder and Tony glared at it, willing his phone to come back to him through sheer willpower. What did the old man say? _It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together._ Yeah, he was no Jedi, no shit, Sherlock.

“You're constantly distracted, Tony, what's wrong with you? And you skip the board meetings all the time. Where are you hiding? This is important, Tony, you're the CEO of Stark Industries! You were the one, who wanted the company to change, from weapons to green energy and technology! We need a flawless new image, but you're acting like a brat.” If she was a bird she would be fluffing up her feathers now. “And you're glued to your phone lately! You can talk to me, you should know that. I'm here for you!”

“If I tell you, you will just lecture me again.” He pursed his lips and petulantly turned away to stare at the wall. The cushion in his lap wasn't a satisfying distraction or a proper defense against Pepper.

“Tony.”

“Nope. No chance. I don't even hear you. Lalala!”

“Tony.”

“Don't! Don't use that voice on me, that's so unfair!”

“Tony.”

“Oh, come on! I've got a heart condition, go easy on me!”

A single raised eyebrow was all it took for Tony to break.

“He's gorgeous, Pepper! A literal angel! He's got blue eyes, bluer than the ocean and the heaven combined and blond hair, like pure gold! And his smile, don't get me started on his smile, he could power up a whole city with that smile. And he looks like he just stepped from the cover of _Men's Health_ and his laugh, oh god, Pepper, he could bottle up his laugh and sell it, it's so beautiful, I'd buy all his bottled up laughter just because it's so amazing.” Logically, his brain knew that he should have stopped talking two minutes ago, but somehow that information hadn't reached his mouth yet. “And he's smart and he's kind. The kind of kind to help kittens cross the street and fetch old ladies from trees. No, wait, the other way round! Whatever, he's drop-dead gorgeous and sweet and he makes the best coffee in the state of New York and I finally got his number and we have a date tomorrow! Well, at least, I like to think of it as a date, we don't do date-dates, we do Hey-you-free-wanna-hang-out dates and I can't stop thinking about him and I think I'm so far gone, that it's embarrassing as fuck…”

In her defense, she had been listening to him without interrupting him, unmoving and her eyes had widened comically at the end of his little speech. Then she gave herself a little shake, grabbed the newspaper from the low couch table in front of Tony and smacked him over the head with it, without warning or comment.

“Ouch! Pep!” Tony rubbed his head. “I'm pouring out my heart to you and what do you do? You hit me! That's it, you're fired!”

“No, I'm not. You can't even dress properly without me.” She deadpanned, and wasn't she right about that one? “You're telling me that you skipped the teleconference with Tokyo last week, a conference you insisted on holding if I may add, to lazily lounge around in a coffee shop and stare at some poor university student's ass and be without a doubt a pain in said ass?”

“He's not a university student and it's a very nice ass!”

“Not the point, Tony!” She was really pissed off now. Damn, he really screwed up big this time. “I'm confiscating your phone! No more coffee shop breaks and texting sessions until you fixed things with Tokyo, Munich and Vancouver. Because those three were the most important conferences you messed up by being inattentive or not even being there! And you know exactly how affronted Mr Yamanote and the Japanese board were, after that stunt you pulled! You can go back to ogling Mr Espresso when you got the trade negotiations done and sealed. Until then you will live off the coffee in the cafeteria like every normal person!”

“No! Pepper, sweetheart, light of my life, you can't do that!” Tony would deny to his dying day that he literally begged Pepper to give him back his phone, like a child who wanted to have his cookie back. He stood up from the couch and clapped his hands together in front of his face, praying for her to have mercy on him.

“JARVIS, Tony's banned from contacting that barista and visiting the coffee shop until I say so. Use my personal override code and inform Happy. I'm done with your kindergarten behavior, you are thirty-eight, not eighteen. Get a grip on yourself!”

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the story of how Tony Stark, CEO of Stark Industries, genius, billionaire, ex-playboy and philanthropist, had his own office door shut in his face by his scary and very capable PA Pepper Potts and barely avoided getting his nose broken by said door.

* * *

“Steve? Hey, buddy, what's wrong? Still sulking because your sugar daddy hasn't come to see you today?” Bucky wiggled his eyebrows at him with a shit-eating grin. His long hair was tied back in a messy man bun.

“Shut it, Buck. I'm not in the mood.” Steve grumbled. He was wiping down the countertop and staring holes in the dark wood. “And he's only ten years older, stop calling him sugar daddy before he hears you say that.”

Bucky came over to clap him on the shoulder. He was still grinning but there was an understanding look in his eyes. He had his apron tied around his waist and a few coffee stains were dotting the blue fabric. Bucky, his best friend, and him had opened their small coffee shop a few years ago, when the two of them had come back from serving in the army. It had been a mutual dream of them to be independent and after getting through some rough years in the Middle East, they'd finally celebrated the new opening of their own little kingdom: _CC - Cap's Coffee_. It was a tiny shop, designed to be comfy and the old fashioned interior was like a memory of a long forgotten time.

“Maybe he's just sick or in another country for some fancy meeting or whatever those rich people do?” James tried his best to be serious, even if he still burst out laughing every time he was reminded of Tony's and Steve's first encounter. He'd told every single one of their friends about it, and the story got more and more embarrassing with every time he told it.

“No, that can't be it. We were constantly texting in our breaks and he came here almost every day since the first time. But, now I haven't heard from him in almost two weeks, Buck. He doesn't answer his phone when I call him, he doesn't respond to texts and he stood me up when I invited him over to try the new muffin recipe I was planning on trying.” Steve tossed the dish towel into the empty sink with more force than necessary. Luckily the two of them were alone in the shop at the moment. “I don't know what I did to drive him away. I feel like shit. But the worst part is, that I miss him so much, like all the time.” He drew in a deep breath, braced his hands on the counter and let his eyes wander to the entrance of their small cafe, waiting and hoping that Tony would somehow stand there and smile at him. “I'm constantly thinking about him, Buck. He's so intelligent, he's handsome, funny-”

“He has a shitload of money.” The other man interrupted him, grinning.

“-and works hard for it.” He continued and shot Bucky a mock-glare. “And he's unique. I've never met someone like him. He can never sit still, but still gives you his full attention. And he's famous, Buck, he could have every person he wishes for, but he comes to visit _me_. I'm a nobody in his world, but when he looks at me, I feel like I'm the luckiest person on this planet.”

“You got it bad, Stevie. Like, really bad.” His friend had a look on his face that was equally understanding and teasing.

“Yeah, I guess I do.” The blond's expression grew sad and a contemplative silence stretched between them.

“If I were you, I'd have long gone to him and demanded answers.” Bucky leaned against the counter next to the milk frother and crossed him arms over his chest. His left arm was heavily scarred but over the time he'd learned to ignore the curious stares of other people. “He's an idiot to leave you hanging like that.”

“No, he's not. Maybe, I don't know, maybe he's… he's…” Steve didn't know how the finish his sentence. He rubbed his hands over his face. Truth to be told, he was upset because Tony hadn't contacted him once in the last two weeks. On the other hand he was worried. He knew from long talks and visits that the older man was really overworked and didn't take care of himself properly. “Maybe he really is sick or had an accident and his company isn't telling the public so it won't affect the sales or, or… what if he was kidnapped? He's famous and the people recognize him! Oh god, what if he was kidnapped when he was on his way to visit me? He always walks here, what if he got abducted and they're torturing him or demand ransom, or… or…?” Steve was pacing now, carding his hands trough his blond hair.

“Steve! Steve, calm down!” Bucky came over to him, taking his wrists in his hands and forcing him to stop his frantic pacing. “If there was an emergency, I'm sure we would have heard about it. I'm pretty sure there's a logical and harmless explanation. You know what? I've got a plan!” Once again he let go of Steve's hands and pushed him, with his hands on his shoulders, backwards to the espresso machine. “I know for sure, that you know for sure, how your sweetheart likes his coffee. Now, go and make him his favorite and then you're taking my car. Drive to Stark Industries and demand answers. He's going to come out of his office, see you, apologize to you, be happy about the coffee and then you two can get a room and finally do something about all that sexual tension, because honestly? This moping and dreaming and flirting and more moping is killing me.”

The refusal was on the tip of Steve's tongue, because seriously? He wasn't eve sure what he would say to Tony, if he even met him and he sure as hell wouldn't want to risk this … whatever they had going, because of his moping-induced desperation to see the man he was longing for.

Then why did he find himself now in front of the entrance to the lobby of Stark Industries? He shuffled nervously, his sneakers grating over the rough pavement. The fact that he'd found a parking slot right in front of the Stark Tower seemed to be a sign to pursue this dangerous plan. Luckily the triple espresso in his hand was still hot, thanks to the to-go cup he'd chosen to use. A honking car behind him pulled him from his trance and he quickly made his way over to the electronic glass doors, before his courage could falter. Only when he let his gaze roam over all the sleek glass and metal designs in gray, white and light blue did he notice that he should have probably left his cheap apron in the car. He felt a blush rising on his cheeks at the stares of the employees and the masses of people who were bustling around inside. Hyper-aware of everything, he made his way over to the first counter after ten minutes of being indecisive about what he should to. The middle-aged woman who greeted him, raised one eyebrow, but didn't comment his look further and he was thankful for that.

“Excuse me, I'm looking for To- … Mr Stark.” He asked shyly.

“Do you have an appointment with Mr Stark, Mr …?” She inquired politely. By some reason, he got the feeling that she was looking over his shoulder instead of in his face. Must be his imagination, he concluded and refrained from turning around.

“Rogers. Steve Rogers, I'm a… a barista.” He filled in and gestured to his apron. “I don't have an appointment, but uh, I'm here to deliver his order.” Carefully he lifted the mug. “Triple espresso, no sugar, no milk. Black as his-”

“-soul.” Someone said behind him.

Steve jerked around, startled. Behind him stood a woman, red hair, sharp eyes, an expensive looking outfit, deadly high heels that had him wondering how she could even walk with these things and she pressed a clipboard to her chest. She eyed him from head to toe, her face was unreadable and Steve felt himself shrink under her stare. He was about to open his mouth, to maybe ask her who she was, when the secretary he'd been talking to beat him to it.

“Ms Potts. How can I help you today?”

“Thanks, Dorothee, I'm taking over from here. That will be all.” The red haired women – Ms Potts? - dismissed her politely and continued to stare Steve down. They stood in silence for a minute, Steve still wondering if he would be arrested now for… something? It definitely felt like it. Then she opened her mouth again. “You got to be kidding me.”

Steve blinked at her. She was now rubbing her fingers with red painted nails over her temple and closed her eyes for a minute, as if she was thinking about how this was her life.

“I'm sorry.” Steve started. What was he even apologizing for? “I'm looking for Mr Stark. My name is Steve Rogers-”

“I think I already know who you are.” She told him and pierced him with her scrutinizing gaze. Ms Potts had her free arm now braced on her hip. “You're the reason why Tony's sulking and constantly giving me the Bambi eyes. Are you aware that he risked a lucrative deal with Munich because of you? He ignored my calls, ditched several meetings, interviews and one gala to hide in your cafe. I'm so done with this shit. I'm giving you two options.” She held two fingers in front of his face and Steve felt his cheeks heating at her words. “First: Tell him to fuck off and let him do his work. Or second: Fuck it out and then let him do his work. Your choice.”

Steve was clutching the coffee cup like a life line by now. He felt his ears burning in embarrassment and the badly suppressed laughing of Dorothee behind him wasn't really helpful. “Ms- Ms Potts, I- I'm not sure, I mean, uh…” He swallowed heavily. “I'm really sorry to hear that I've caused you so many problems, it wasn't intentional. But I think there's a misunderstanding. Tony and I, we're- I mean, yes, we spend a lot of time together. And I like him, a lot. I mean, what I'm trying to say is… I care about him and- and I don't want to mess this up. This, us. But I also don't want to risk our friendship by telling him that I see him as more than just a friend. I want to do this right.” At the end of his confession he was staring at the lid of the coffee cup and didn't dare to lift his gaze to see the reaction on Ms Potts face.

She sighed heavily and Steve carefully peeked at her trough his blond lashes. Steve was sure he heard her mutter something that sounded suspiciously like _I don't get paid enough for this_ before she pressed a single finger to the tiny black device in her ear, that had been hidden under her hair. “Natasha? Get me Tony in the conference room B11… Yes, instantly… I don't care if he's still sulking, drag him there by force, if you have to… No, he doesn't need to know why… Thank you.”

Steve flinched when she laid a slender hand on his shoulder. This woman was terrifying even though he was at least a few inches taller than her. When she smiled at him, he could practically smell the danger behind it. His suspicions were promptly confirmed, when she suddenly had a death grip on his ear lobe and pulled him towards the elevator.

“Ow, ow, ow! Ms Potts, could you please- Ow! Please slow down, this hurts! Ms Potts! Ouch!”

“Shut up.” She pressed the button to the seventeenth floor but didn't let go of him. Steve was leaning forward and hunching his shoulders, trying to adjust to her stature. “I thought I knew what stupidity was when I started working for Tony, but you're almost as dense as my idiotic boss. We're sorting this out. Now.” The doors of the elevator opened again and Steve let out an unmanly yelp, when she unceremoniously pulled him along.

He didn't dare to pull her hand away from his poor, abused ear, afraid of her reaction and accidentally hurting her, so when she finally released him in front of a plain office door, he instantly pressed one hand over his throbbing ear. Meanwhile Ms Potts swiftly snatched the by now cold coffee from his other hand, opened the door to the empty room and pushed him inside with surprising strength.

“Since you refuse to choose option number one, I hereby order you to fuck this unsaid thing out. Be thankful that I'm such a patient woman!”

Flabbergasted was probably an appropriate adjective for Steve's current state. He flinched when the scary woman slammed the door shut. Slowly he turned to look around the room. He stood in a pretty neutral office room. There was a desk with a switched off computer, the mandatory ficus tree in one corner, three pictures of various landscapes, a trash basket, a clock on the wall, three chairs on the left side of the door and a simple black couch on the right side. Everything was covered in light that shone through the tall window behind the desk. The silence in the room was almost eerie. Steve rubbed his sweaty palms over his pant legs, he was strangely nervous. Was this quietness the same how one felt after surviving a natural catastrophe? Steve wanted nothing more than to call Bucky and ask him what he should do. Ms Potts hadn't told him what to do. And no, he would not have sex on a couch in an office room in a foreign building with whoever was going to come here. If someone was going to come here. _Not that kind of come, stupid brain_ , he chided himself. But he'd left his phone in Bucky's car and he didn't dare to open the door and sneak out. At least, not yet.

Suddenly the door burst open and a strange scene displayed itself in front of Steve. There was a women. Another red haired one to boost. And she was somehow carrying Tony over her shoulder like a firefighter. Steve stood there and stared as she unceremoniously threw him on the couch next to Steve. He stared a bit more and a bit more, as she first took in an openly sulking Tony and then Steve. A shudder ran down his spine, he felt as if this women could read him like an open book. And then she smirked all-knowingly and left them alone without a word or trace that she'd been here at all, except for the fact that there was now a Tony shaped bundle on the couch. When she was gone and the door closed again, Steve looked over at Tony who was now finally realizing that Steve was here. His eyes lit up and he unfolded his arms from over his chest, stood up from the comfy looking couch in order to greet him.

“Hey, Steve!” His voice was as soft as Steve remembered it and just now, that he had Tony within his reach, did he realize how much he'd _really_ missed the older man. His perfectly styled hair was a mess from the rough treatment, his suit rumpled, but the smile that was directed at the blond had his heart melting all over again. “What are you doing here? Not that I don't want to see you, quite the contrary, I want to see you! But Pepper banned me from visiting you and she still has my phone. And JARVIS, that traitor, didn't accept any of my override codes, I'm gonna gift him to a high school one of these days, let me tell you this. How are you, god, it's so good to see you, I really missed you. You don't happen to have a cup of coffee with you? Seriously this stuff that the secretaries drink tastes like dishwater, it's gross! I thought I'd die, the first time I tried it. But your coffee, that's liquid gold, honestly. And I'm so sorry I couldn't make it to our muffin test run, Natasha's almost scarier than Pepper and the two of them combined are a force to be feared! …”

In the back of his mind, Steve realized that Tony was still talking a mile a minute but the rest of him was busy smiling at Tony, watching how his hands were talking along with his mouth and his eyes were glued to the brunet's lips. The ex-soldier knew he was madly in love with this man and if Ms Potts reaction was anything to go by, then there might be a tiny, itty bitty chance that Tony might return his feelings.

Feeling bolder than he was, he wordlessly caught Tony's hands gently in midair and pulled them to his chest. Softly he petted his knuckles. Steve saw the realization dawn in those whiskey colored eyes and the stream of words ebbed away, when Steve slowly bent down to catch Tony's lips in a chaste kiss. A few heartbeats passed. When they pulled away, they didn't go far and Steve nudged Tony's nose with his own. Steve felt Tony's warm breath ghost over his skin and his own heartbeat was thumping like crazy. He was sure Tony would be able to hear it.

“I had brought a coffee for you.” Steve started. He kept his voice low and warm and his eyes on Tony's face. He was sure his own cheeks were a bright red by now. “I missed you so much, these past two weeks. I missed your rambling and your smile and how your eyes light up when you come to visit me. I- I hope I didn't just make the biggest mistake of my life, misinterpreting this thing between us. But… If you would like to, I mean, it would make me happy if you- if you would agree to go on a date with me. A- a real date.” His blush had now reached the tips of his ears and he watched Tony's face closely.

“A date, Mr Rogers? A real date-date?” Finally a loving smile widened Tony's face. It looked gorgeous on him and Steve wanted to see this smile on his face all the time.

Hope blossomed in Steve's chest and now he was smiling, wide enough that his cheeks started to hurt. “Yeah, a real date-date, Mr Stark. You can pick the place. Everywhere is fine with me, as long as you're there.”

Tony was grinning like there was no tomorrow. And then he was leaning in, bringing their lips together once again. Steve happily kissed back, relishing the feeling of Tony's soft lips on his own, the slight scratch of his goatee on his skin. He sucked in a breath, when the other's lips parted to allow him in. Their second kiss lasted longer than their first. Steve gently guided Tony's hands around his own neck and settled his own hands around the shorter man's waist. Their bodies fit together perfectly and Steve wanted to never ever let go again.

“Well, if I get to pick the place-” Tony whispered against his lips, a lovestruck expression in his eyes. “-then how about we have coffee together?”

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on twitter as well: @Perlmutt_Pearl
> 
> thank you for reading!!


End file.
